Having been born and raised in Newark — an education I chronicle in my 2023 book Untenable — I belong to a Facebook group called “Growing up in Newark, N.J.”  On most days, the discussions are congenial, the subjects  ranging from who has the best pizza or lemon ice to memories of our literally riotous past.

This week, Newark mayor Ras Baraka dropped a pipe bomb in the punch bowl.  Baraka, who is now running for governor of New Jersey, posted a video of himself trashing President Trump for dismantling the Department of Education.

Claiming to speak on behalf of “working people,” Baraka insisted that Trump was “robbing the poor to give billionaires and oligarchs a tax break.”  The deeper reason for the move, said Baraka, was the White House’s recognition that “an educated populace is a dangerous populace.”  According to the members of the Newark group, that’s not a worry.

The respondents span all generations and races.  Although many of them have fled Newark, few have left the state.  Baraka’s campaign donors will not be pleased with what they have to say.

The letter before each comment signifies the apparent race of the respondent — W for white, almost of whom are Italian; H — for Hispanic or Portuguese; and B for black.

In Newark, a textbook working-class city, very close to no one of any race grew up in a Republican household.  I certainly did not.  In my house, it was JFK all the way.  The Democrats lost the Italian vote a long time ago, but the unanimity of the Hispanic response has got to unnerve donors.  What follows are the first 25 comments on the list — no omissions, minimal editing:  

W: “NOT ‘they’ — it is the stupid Democrats who are DESTROYING this Country and Society. Put the blame where it belongs — on Democrats.”

B: “What about when you become a senior what does Newark do for us.”

H: “Once again blame Trump for all your problems! What a joke!”

W: “The Dept of Ed is the biggest rip off in government. Our children are being left behind compared to the world. ... Just a little more than a third of our children are up to grade level. Education should rest with the states and parents.

W: “You have the balls to stand there ... you are the biggest thief in Newark ... you hypocrite.”

H: “Lmfao this guy is a clown!!”

W: “Yeah because the Newark School system is doing an outstanding job in educating the children of Newark. Guessing $1.5 plus billion a year isn’t enough.”

W: “You all Democrats steal more money from schools than anybody... And you do it in every major city in the country total f------ failure you guys been in control of these big cities for decades and decades and you’re still f----- up.”

W: “Ras, you’re a clown. Federal government (at least most of it) is a leach, a waste of taxpayer money. If you politicians were good stewards of our money it could and would be a different story. For decades this nation has had a horrendous academic history.”

W: “I’ve it up. Another clown.”

H: “What mind is thinking while they the board of education stealing of the money and not paying teachers making them pay for school supplies so they can teach better they don’t want to pay the teachers.”

W: “Great job by our president, stop the graft.”

H: “For kids that disrespect the teachers, curse, slap be on their phones etc. ... and don’t forget that people are getting paid for NOT showing up ...  but you forget to mention that.”

W: “I don’t agree with you at all. There are way too many teaching the children who aren’t Certified. More than half can’t even read. Way too many DEI hires whether you agree or not. Get out there and clean up your own school instead of blaming everyone else. For shame. The children deserve much more than your giving them.”

W: “The story on education, is a story, that is a never ending one. Factual information, on the Why, children from the early eighties and on to present day, have struggled with the curriculum, and the experimental Methodology shoved down the throats of PARENTS, coupled with the IDEOLOGY of the Board members, Political office holders, and TEACHERS, who can not teach, and scurry out the doors at dismissal time (scared s-------) are the countless faults that exist in the educational system.”

B:  “He is getting rid of blood successfully you can’t tell me about Newark I was raised there it was safe, nowadays not so.”

H: “Look in a mirror, you are the problem. An full of s---.”

H: “Stop the fear mongering and tell us what your plans for New Jersey are.”

B: “WE NEED YOU MR. BARAKA TO BE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.”

B: “Typical democrat. lies. Pres is NOT trying to do that.”

B: “True.” (Likely speaking of Baraka)

H: “What a clown!”

B: “Amen.” (Likely speaking of Baraka)

H: “He, Newark Mayor, is NOT getting my vote.”

H: “I wonder where his gold bars are stashed?”

The “gold bars” refer to the bribes Democrat senator Bob Menendez received that in January landed him an eleven-year prison sentence.  New Jersey residents have learned to expect little from their elected officials, and those officials almost always live up to expectations.

In running for governor, Baraka promises a total makeover.  “We will deconstruct the state budget and reassemble with equity as our north star,” he tells us, “judging every decision as either a step towards equity or a step towards inequity.”  The Democrat primary is June 10, just two months away.

Run, Ras, run!

Jack Cashill’s book Untenable: The True Story of White Ethnic Flight from America’s Cities is available in all formats.

Image: Ras Baraka.  Credit: Lorie Shaull via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.